Student Activism at Duke University

From April 5-11, 1968, Duke University experienced a student-organized demonstration sparked by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Following a peaceful occupation of President Douglas Knight's house, students moved to the Chapel Quad, where they kept a silent vigil for several days.

Student activists also called for a boycott of the dining halls, in support of striking food service and housekeeping employees. As a result of the Vigil, the administration agreed to raise the minimum wage for campus employees and re-examine racial concerns.

Secondary Sources: These items include student research papers and honors theses.

• Crocker, Eleanor C. and Maurine LaBarre. "The Silent Vigil: A Student Non-Violent Demonstration." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 40.3 (April 1970): 481-492.

• Gartin, Ashley. "Unity and the Duke Vigil: Civil Rights Challenges at Duke University." Undergraduate research paper, 2013. Full text available at DukeSpace.

• Hanberry, Jane M. "The Duke Vigil: A Culmination of Issues." History 195/196 research paper, 1976. Available in box 3 of the Department of History Records.

• Segal, Theodore D. "'A New Genesis': The 'Silent Vigil' at Duke University, April 5th-12th, 1968." Undergraduate honors paper, 1977. Full text available at DukeSpace.

• Toro, Kim L. "The Silent Vigil." Undergraduate research paper, 1992. Available in box 1 of the Dept. of Cultural Anthropology Records.

Campus Publications:

• Booher, Bridget. "Remembering the Silent Vigil." Duke Magazine. 84.3 (March-April 1998): 2-9, 49-53. Full text available via the Internet Archive.

• Henderson, David L. A Journal of the Duke Vigil (c. 1968): Henderson was one of the student organizers of the Silent Vigil. This journal provides a day-by-day account and analysis of Silent Vigil events.

• The Duke Chronicle: Includes coverage of the Silent Vigil and and the campus and Durham response. Issues of the Chronicle from this time period may also be accessed online.

• The Chanticleer: The 1969 edition of the Chanticleer (which is also available online) includes several photographs of the Silent Vigil. (The Vigil occurred too late in the spring semester to be included in the 1968 yearbook.)

Related Websites and Online Resources:

• The Student Activism album on the Duke University Archives' Flickr site contains several photos from the Silent Vigil.

• "April 1968: Carolina Reacts to the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," on the UNC Archives' blog "For the Record," looks at the reaction to Dr. King's death at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Key Collection:

• Duke Vigil Collection, 1968-1988: Collection includes publications, correspondence, reports, flyers and ephemera, press releases, clippings, and first-hand accounts of the Silent Vigil, as well as information about the anniversary and reunion of the Silent Vigil in 1988. 

Other Relevant Collections:

• Barry Sharoff Papers on the Duke Vigil, 1968-1988: Sharoff, Class of 1968, organized publicity for the Duke Vigil Strategy Committee. His collection includes flyers, newspapers, press releases, statements, notes, correspondence, and publicly-distributed materials regarding the Duke Vigil, as well as materials related to the 20th anniversary of the Vigil in 1988.

• Black History at Duke Reference Collection, 1948-2001 and undated: This collection includes background information on the integration of Duke University, as well as on African-American student life.

• Boyte Family Papers, 1941-2018: The "Duke University, 1964-1975 and nd" folder in box 4 contains flyers and writings about the Vigil, collected by Duke student Harry Boyte.

• Douglas M. Knight records, 1949-1970: Knight was president of Duke University from 1963-1969. Documentation on the Silent Vigil may be found in box 10.

• Vice President for Business and Finance records, 1950-ongoing: Charles B. Huestis served as the chief fiscal officer of the university at the time of the Silent Vigil. Boxes 9, 10, and 58 contain materials on the Silent Vigil. 

Photograph and Audio/Visual Collections:

• University Archives Photograph Collection, 1861-ongoing: Box 54 includes photographs of the Silent Vigil, including several taken by student participants.

• Radio TV Services records, circa 1937-2012: This collection includes recordings of interviews, press conferences, and speeches during the Silent Vigil. Use copies of some recordings may need to be made before these can be listened to; please contact University Archives staff for more information. 

• WDBS Collection, 1949-1983: Includes WDBS broadcasts of the events of the Vigil. Use copies of some recordings may need to be made before these can be listened to; please contact University Archives staff for more information.